Private Investigations and Personal Security/Office ambush!

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Expert: - 8/18/2009

QuestionMarc, I work in an office in a quiet suburb in Surrey, England. As we all know quiet suburbs can be the most dangerous places and I want to know, if someone were to attack/ambush me in the office how could I dispatch them armed only with general items of office stationery?

AnswerUmmm actually the suburbs tend to be a whole lot LESS violent. Because people who can afford to live there tend to be in better paying jobs because they have self-control. The same goes for office situations. Anyone who wants to keep their job would be well advised NOT to become physical. An overwhelming majority of office conflicts are more about words, posturing and threats to your job than they are physically dangerous. And if someone does try to threaten you with physical violence ... their job is gone and so are they.

Instead of worrying about how to kill 27 ninjas with a paperclip, there is a book called "The Ape In The Corner Office: Understanding The Workplace Beast In All Of Us" by Richard Conniff. It's a really good insight into how our primate behavior manifests at work and how/why intimidation is a bad workplace strategy. Offices offer a MUCH wider range of options for problem resolution other than picking up a chair and bashing someone over the head.